FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jenny Williams
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
216.515.1503
jwill@rockhall.org

TOMMY BROADWAY STAR AND BEATLES AUTHOR COME TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM FOR TWO SPECIAL EVENINGS

“Tommy” Broadway star Michael Cerveris added to exhibit programming;
Beatles expert Tony Bramwell to talk about new book

CLEVELAND (March 29, 2005) – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to announce additional programming to the Museum’s already busy schedule.

Tuesday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. – Tony Bramwell, author of MAGICAL MYSTERY TOURS: My Life with the Beatles, will speak in the Museum’s Fourth Floor Theater. This event is FREE and open to the public.

Bramwell knew George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon from the time they grew up together in Liverpool. (He met Ringo when he joined the Beatles.) He stayed close by them for every step of the Beatles’ meteoric rise – supporting them in business and, even more often, in their personal lives.

Bramwell stayed with the Beatles through their time at Apple Records and their ascent to stardom, beginning with their first appearance in the U.S. in the early 1960s. Bramwell’s story reveals fresh insight into the Beatles’ childhoods and families, their early recordings and songwriting, Yoko’s pursuit of John and her influence over the group, and much more. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOURS: My Life with the Beatles is an insider look at the Beatles that rock music fans have been waiting for, for years.

Wednesday, April 13, 7:00 p.m. – Michael Cerveris will join Des McAnuff in the Museum’s Fourth Floor Theater to talk about the Broadway production of Tommy. McAnuff directed and co-wrote the Broadway version. Cerveris played the part of Tommy. Tickets to this event are $5 and are currently on sale.

Michael Cerveris has played every thing from Shakespeare's tragic hero Romeo to his arch villain Don John to rebel French poet Arthur Rimbaud; from British rockers Ian Ware (tv series “Fame”) and Tommy in Broadways’ “The Who's Tommy” to German transsexual rock diva Hedwig in “Hedwig & the Angry Inch” to the tormented Giorgio in Sondheim's “Passion.” He has performed alongside rock legends Pete Townshend and Bob Mould and is also a writer, composer and front man of his own bands.

In 1992, Cerveris originated the role of Tommy in the World Premiere of Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Tommy author Pete Townshend was so impressed he asked Cerveris to perform with him at special appearances during his "Psychoderelict" tour. He earned a Tony Nomination for Best Featured Actor and won the Theatre World Award.

More recently, in 2004, Cerveris reached two career milestones- first the release of his debut album, “Dog Eared” and in the Spring he was presented with the Tony Award. In March, Michael returned to the Broadway stage slipping into the role of John Wilkes Booth in the long awaited production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman musical Assassins.

Michael's extensive career on the boards has made him the consummate performer. Whether he is donning the masks of comedy and tragedy or loosing his inner passion for rock and roll, the transformation is seemingly effortless, the result breathtaking.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exists to educate its visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and significance of rock and roll music. The Museum carries out this mission through its efforts to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret this art form.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays the Museum is open until 9:00 p.m. Museum admission is $20.00 for adults, $14.00 for seniors (60+), $11 for children (9-12) and children under 8 and Museum members are free.